IJ 


United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

BURKAU  OF  PLANT  INDUSTRY, 

Western   Irrigation   Agriculture, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


THK    WORK    OF   THE   HUNTLEY    RECLAMATION 

PROJECT  EXPERIMENT  FARM  IN  1913.1 

Bj  Dan  Hansen  nl 

INTKOIM  (   [TON. 

The  experiments  carried  on  at  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm  are 
concerned  chiefly  with  crops  under  irrigation,  although  a  tract  of 
about  20  acres  of  land  lying  above  the  irrigation  canal  is  devoted  to 
leriments  with  dry-land  crops.  This  dry-land  work  is  under  the 
direction  of  the  Office  of  Dry-Land  Agriculture  and  includes  crop 
rotation  and  tillage  experiments.  The  experiments  with  crops  under 
irrigation  include  crop  rotation  and  tillage  methods,  variety  tests  of 
field  cmp-.,  testa  of  cropping  methods,  pasture-grass  tests,  and  U 
of  fruit,  trees,  small  fruits,  and  vegetables. 

I  ONDITIONS  ON  THK  PROJE4   I 

<    I  IM  VI  l<      (  l>M)|  |  |.  iN^ 

The  rainfall  al  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm  during  the  year  1913 
amounted  to  11.92  inches,  which  was  about  2  inches  Less  than  the 
rage  f<>r  the  pasl  three  years.  The  period  free  from  frosl  was  L36 
days,  :t-  compared  with  125  days  in  L912  and  1 1  l  days  in  191 !.  The 
olimatological  observations1  made  during  the  past  three  year-  are 
summarized  in  Table  I. 


>  The  Humify  Kxpariment  Farm  Is  located  on  the  Ha  .  ij.vcnt  tothe 

'•lie  land  withheld  (ram  :it  of 

the  Interior  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  project,  to  be  w^ed  i*  an  experiment  farm.     <>(  tlie  2in>  i 
only  •  tfiroads,  tli.  -ion 

canal .  and  a  large  le  canal.    In  ind  mention 

•  rtmenti  tn  reclaiming  alkaline 
suit.    The  work  of  the  firm  i>  nodal  U  -ure. 

Other  offices  in  the  Buraan  of  11  uu  Indnatr  :i  are 

Cooperating  in  tbt  irk. 

A  report  of  the  work  of  the  Hunt  I.-.  Experiment  Farm  In  1913  .Industry 

Circulir  i:i,  issued  April  l.\  I 

'  The  :is  were  made  in  cooperation  «  itli  the  Bioph]  ~iral  Laboratory  of  the  Bureau  of  flant 

Industry. 

r— 14 


Table  I. — S  n  mmary  of cl i matological  observations  made  at  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm 
during  the  years  1911,  1912,  ait/l  WIS. 

Precipitation  (Inches). 


Year,  etc. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May.    June.  July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Deo. 

Total 

1911 

0.64 
.27 
.29 

0.32 
.21 
.10 

0.41 
.40 

0.85 

2.00 

.43 

3.29 
2.44 
1.27 

2. 13     0.  ^1 
1.  14     2.  25 
2.20,1.  10 

1.05 
1.39 
1.  19 

0.57 
2.97 
1.43 

0.88 
3.25 
2.  99 

0.82 
.75 

.  15 

0.13 
.17 

11.49 

1912 

17.  OS 

1913 

11.92 

Average.. 

.40 

.21 

.27     1.09 

2.33  |  1.82     1.39 

1.21 

1.66  ] 

2.34 

.67 

.10 

13.46 

Evaporation  i  Inches 


i       1       1       1 

1911 ' 1 4.388   5.  827    7.124 

v.  875   6.071 

6.  942   6.  959 
7. 1120  Mi.  3IJ0 

5.079 

3.  722 

4.  450 

2.568 
2.475 

39.932 

1912 

1913 

4.  900   7. 020 

4.300  15.980 



2S.  050 

5. 009   6.  708    7.  i,12  iii.  443 

4.417 

2.521 

33. 333 

Daily  Wind  Velocity  (Mixes  per  Holrj. 


Average: 

1911 

5.6 
5.8 
6.3 

9.4 
13.0 
10.1 

2.0 
2.6 
1.0 

5.6 
6.3 
4.5 

8.8 
17.5 
9.2 

1.5 

1.8 
.9 

4.5 
5.2 
3.8 

8.8 

7.7 
5.4 

2.7 
2.3 
1.3 

4.6 
3.9 
3.7 

8.7 
6.0 
8.6 

2.3 
.6 
2.1 

4.0 
3.7 
3.2 

7.2 
6.5 
5.7 

21 

.8 
.8 

4.4 
4.2 
3.6 

9.3 
8.0 
8.8 

1.0 
.9 
.4 

4.2 
5.6 
4.0 

10.0 
14.7 
3.3 

1.3 
1.5 
1.5 

5.4 
4.2 

5.5 

7.8 

1912 

1913 

5.6 
6.3 

5.2 
5.9 

4.8 
5.2 

Maximum: 
1911 

11.6 
9.7 

11.5 
14.6 

1912 

1913 

12.8 
11.9 

10.8 
12.6 

12.1 
10.5 

Minimum: 
1911 

1.4 
1.0 

1.5 

2.7 

1912 

1913 

.7 
1.0 

1.6 
1.7 

.9 

1.9 

Monthly  Temperature  (°F.). 


Mean: 

1911 

14.2 

16.1 

39.1 

43.2 

53.  8 

68.5 

67.6 

64.1 

44.8 

24.9 

23.6    

1912 

16.6 

29.1 

18.7 

46.5 

55.5 

66.  S 

67.2 

66.6 

50.1 

44.  7 

3v7 

29.7    

1913 

14.0 

17.7 

24.0 

46.4 

55.0 

65.9 

68.0 

70.0 

57.3 

41.0 

3S.2 

30.6    

Maximum: 

1911 

50.0 

40.0 

74.0 

77.0 

92.0 

94.0 

97.0 

97.5 

94.0 

S4.5 

55.0 

55.0    

1912 

53.0 

52.0 

62.0 

78.0 

90.0 

99.5 

95.  0 

93.0 

89.0 

79.  0 

69.0 

59.0    

1913 

56.0 

63.0 

61.0 

82.0 

89.0 

88.0 

98. 0 

97. 0 

94.0 

81.0 

67.0 

55.0    

Minimum: 

1911 

-26 

-19 

-  3 

17.0 

24.0 

40.0 

41.0 

33.5 

28.0 

14.0 

-20.5 

-26      

1912 

-35 

—    0 

-27 

20.0 

32.  0 

36.0 

44.0 

40.0 

24.  0 

17.0 

13 

1      

1913 

-32 

-21 

-25 

20.0 

31.0 

42.0 

43.0 

44.0 

29.0 

20.0 

14 

—  o      

Killing  Frosts. 


Last  in  sprint;. 

First  in  autumn. 

Year. 

Minimum 
Date.        tempera- 
ture. 

Date. 

Minimum 
tempera- 
ture. 

Frost-free 
period. 

1911 

1912 

1913 

Mav    36                    32 

May   13 

May     5                   31 

Sept.  1* 
Sept.  i<; 
Sept.  19 

*  F. 
28 
31 
29 

Days. 
114 
125 
136 

<    HOC    (   ON PNv 

The  season  of  1913  was  generally  favorable  to  field  crops.  Field 
work  was  began  in  early  April  ami  the  soil  jit  this  time  was  in  good 
condition  for  Btarting  crops  on  account  of  the  heavy  rainfall  of  the 

previous    winter.      A    drought    later   in    the   spring   and    early   in    the 

Bummer,  however,  made  it  necessary  in  a  few  cases  on  Bpring-plowed 

land   to  irrigate  early  to  insure  the  germination  of  heets  and  other 

late-planted  crops. 

The  first  cut  ting  of  alfalfa  was  generally  rather  badly  damaged  by 
heavy  rains  that  occurred  during  the  latter  pari  of  June.  'The  re- 
mainder of  the  season,  however,  was  \n\  favorable,  and  while  some 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  harvesting  the  Bugar-beet  crop  because 
of  stormy  weather,  this  work  was  completed  in  good  season. 

During  the  year  1913  there  were  527  farms  on  the  project,  com- 
prising an  area  of  _':;.. ">77  acres  of  irrigable  land.  Of  this,  nn  area  of 
15,798    acres    was    in    crops.      ( )f    the    crops    grown,    alfalfa    occupied 

1,848  acres;  sugar  heets.    1,475  acres;  ami  grains,  chiefly  <>ats  and 

wheat,  - "> . 7 7 J  acres.      Tin'  total  farm  value  of  the  crops  grow  n  in   I'M". 

was  $464,697,  as  compared  with  $350,771  in  1912.     The  average  farm 

value  per  acre  <>f  crops  was  $29.35  in   1913,  as  compared  with  S'JT..",!! 
in  1912.      The  acreage,  yields,  and  farm  value  of  the  crops  grown  on 

the  project  in  1013  are  stated  in  Table  II.  the  figures  being  obtained 
from  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service. 

Tabli   II        l    .■;./.,»//./</.«.  and f am  valuta  of cropt  produced on  Ou  Huntley  Reclamation 

l'i 


At..  \ 
k  r.T. 

Ciiit 

of 

j  kid. 

field*. 

Farm  val 

Crap. 

Total. 

A\.r- 
age. 

mum. 

Per 

unit  of 

Total. 

IVr 

acre. 

Average. 

mum. 

AlfilO 

1,848 
191 

39 

.-•J 
40 

H 

3,942 

" 

1,478 

t: 

na 

H 

H 

Ton 

BuahaL 
...do.... 
Ton.... 
Poand . 
Bushel. 

T.m... 
Bushel. 

Ton 
BobdoL 

16,728 

306 

."..lis 

18 

113,764 

11,889 

13.27 

606 

1  SO 

120  ID 

10.  ir 
laoo 

mo 

'.'  0 

.1I.IKI 

50.0 
18  0 

Mi  ,i 
15.  i) 

• 
.  18 

12  mi 

.01 

1  a", 
1  .it 

■ 
- 

6.00 

•     • 

12.00 

.66 

•91,987  50 
1,218  si 

6,l»«i  n) 

90.00 
106.  1-' 
150.06 
08  00 

21,800  '«i 

14,1 

118.97 

ISO  '"i 
17  16 

64  04 
61  02 

• 
im  00 
1-  24 

lUrlrv    

l.ii  "l 

Cora 

200.00 

is  00 







spoil 

Truck 

180  "i 

•     ■ 

Timor  hv 

Ton  . 
Bushel. 

iau 

80  0 

.... 

Total 

- 

464,697.77 

29.35 





EXPERIMENTS  WITH  IRRIGATED  CROPS. 

The  experiments  carried  on  with  irrigated  crops  in  1913  were  for 
the  most  part  continuations  of  work  conducted  in  1912.  These  ex- 
periments included  crop  rotations,  time  and  methods  of  planting 
alfalfa,  time  of  harvesting  alfalfa,  tests  of  pasture  grasses,  variety 
tests  of  corn,  irrigation  of  flax,  fertilizer  tests  with  wheat,  oats,  and 
barley,  and  tests  of  orchard  trees  and  small  fruits.     The  arrangement 

of  the  fields  and  the  loca- 
tion of  the  experiments  in 
1913  are  indicated  in  fig- 
ure ] . 


CROP  ROTATIONS  UNDER 
IRRIGATION. 

In  1912  a  series  of  crop 
rotations  under  irrigation 
was  started  on  70  quarter- 
acre  plats  in  field  K.  In 
these  experiments  there  are 
eleven  2-year  rotations, 
three  3-yearrotations,  three 
4-year  rotations,  and  three 
6-year  rotations  in  which 
the  following  crops  are 
grown  in  different  se- 
quences: Alfalfa,  sugar 
beets, oats,  potatoes,  wheat. 
corn,  and  flax.  While  these 
experiments  have  not  been 
under  way  long  enough  to 
obtain  any  conclusive  re- 
sults, there  were  some  rather 
marked  differences  in  1913 
in  the  yields  of  some  of  the  crops.  The  average,  maximum,  and 
minimum  yields  obtained  in  1913  are  stated  in  Table  III. 

Table  III. — Average,  maximum,  and  minimum  yields  obtained  in  the  irrigated  rotations 
at  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm  in  191$. 


O  r±E  y  EXPERiriEN  7    -~- 

Fig.  1.— Diagram  of  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm, 
showing  the  arrangement  of  the  fields  and  the  location 
of  the  experiments  in  1913. 


Crop. 

Variety. 

Number 
of  plats. 

Yield 

per  acre. 

Unit. 

Average. 

Maximum. 

Minimum. 

Alfalfa,  1912 

Montana 

10 
6 
14 
13 
15 
3 
4 
2 

Ton 

...do.... 
...do.... 

Bushel.. 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 

5.46 
2.  20 
13.08 
212.  69 
84.18 
27.  25 
41.97 
21.  71 

6.29 

2.51 

16.80 

362.  oo 

126.80 
36.12 
48.70 

31.28 

4.21 

Alfalfa,  1913 

,       .do 

1.79 

Sugar  beets 

Rural  . 

9.25 

36.00 

Oats 

Swedish  Select 

37.80 

Wheat... 

Pringle's  Champion 

Northwestern  Dent 

-Minnesota  No.  25 

17  44 

Corn 

Flax...'     

33.90 
12.14 

The  highest  yield  of  beeta  in  L913  was  obtained  from  Ian. I  which 
produced  flax  in  1912.  The  lowesl  yield  was  obtained  where  beete 
followed  beets.  High  yields  were  Becured  from  manured  oat-stubble 
land.  (See  fig.  2.)  Three  plats  of  beets  were  grown  after  oats  ma- 
nured and  five  plats  after  oats  not  manured.  The  average  yield  <>f 
the  three  manured  plats  waa  14.81  tons  per  acre,  which  was  2.04  tons 
higher  than  the  average  yield  from  unmanured  oat  land. 

Potatoes  yielded  highest  <>n  manured  oal  land,  the  yield  being 
bushels  per  acre,  which  was  16  bushels  higher  than  the  j  ield  obtained 
on  oat  land  not  manured. 

(>ats  did  besl  when  planted  on  land  which  was  in  alfalfa  in  1912, 
although  one  of  the  six:  plats  en  which  oats  followed  potatoes  yielded 


K-IIt-.v    The  e  beeta  •  on  manun-i 

- 
the  '  :  'i : 

higher  than  any  of  the  eats  en  alfalfa  land.  See  fig.  .;.  The  results 
obtained  in  1913  indicate  that  oats  can  he  expected  to  yield  well  when 
grown  after  either  alfalfa,  potatoes,  or  sugar  beets.     Comparatively 

low   yields  were  obtained  where  oats  followed  corn,  wheat,  or  oat-. 

The  average  yield  of  the  four  plats  of  corn  was  U.95  hushels  per 
acre.  There  were  no  very  wide  differences  in  the  yields  from  the 
different  plats.  The  highest  yield  was  obtained  where  corn  followed 
sugar  beets  and  the  lowest  where  corn  followed  oats. 

The  hot  yield  of  wheal  was  Becured  where  wheat  followed  sugar 
beets,  and  the  lowest  yield  was  produced  on  land  which  was  planted 
to  oats  in  1913. 

Only  two  plats  of  flax  are  included  in  the  rotations.  ( )n  one  of 
these,  where  tlax  followed  tlax.  the  yield  Was   12.]  J  bushels  per 


On  the  other,  where  fhix  followed  corn  which  was  hogged  off  in  1912, 
the  yield  was  31.28  bushels  per  acre. 

The  chief  results  from  the  rotation  experiments  in  1913  are  the 
following: 

(1)  Decidedly  better  yields  were  produced  with  crops  grown  in  rotation  than  with 
the  same  crops  grown  continuously  on  the  same  land. 

(2)  The  yields  indicate  that  the  practice  of  plowing  under  alfalfa  and  of  applying 
barnyard  manure  greatly  increases  the  productivity  of  the  soil. 

(3)  The  beneficial  effect  on  the  soil  of  growing  cultivated  crops,  particularly  sugar 
beets  and  potatoes,  was  strongly  indicated. 


Fig.  3.— Oats  on  plat  K-IV-6.  This  was  the  highest  yielding  oat  plat  in  the  rotation  experiments  in 
1913.  The  oats  were  grown  on  land  which  produced  potatoes  in  1912,  and  the  yield  was  126.  s  bushels 
per  acre. 

PASTURING  CORN  AND  ALFALFA  WITH  HOGS. 

In  connection  with  the  rotation  work,  experiments  in  pasturing 
alfalfa  and  hogging  corn  have  been  carried  on.  This  work  is  included 
in  one  of  the  6-year  rotations,  which  is  as  follows:  Alfalfa  for  tlnee 
years,  followed  by  corn,  flax,  and  beets.  According  to  the  plans  the 
third-year  alfalfa  plat  is  to  be  pastured  and  the  corn  hogged  instead 
of  being  harvested  in  the  usual  way.  Since  the  rotations  were  not 
started  until  1912,  no  third-year  alfalfa  was  available  in  1913,  and 
the  second-year  alfalfa  was  pastured. 

Pasturing  alfalfa. — On  the  alfalfa  plat  in  1913  only  the  third  crop 
was  pastured,  the  first  and  second  crops  being  cut  for  hay.     In  pas- 


tilling  the  iilfnlfa,  the  pint  was  divided  into  two  equal  parts  and  the 
hogs  were  pastured  alternate  week-,  on  each  part.  As  Boon  as  the 
hogs  were  removed  from  one  part  <>f  the  pasture  thai  part  was  irri- 
gated. By  having  tin*  pasture  thus  divide. 1.  a  good  growth  of  alfalfa 
was  Becured  and  overgrazing  was  prevented.  Figure  l  Bhows  the 
lilies  on  the  alfalfa  pasture  on  September  10,  or  3  l  days  after  the  tesl 

was  started,  and  tlie  growth  indicates  that  the  alfalfa  was  not  over- 
grazed. 

On  August  7  >i\  apring-farrowed  pigs,  averaging  18.66  pounds  in 
weight ,  were  placed  on  the  alfalfa.     It  soon  became  apparent  thai  this 

nu  in  her  would  not  keep  the  alfalfa  pastured  down,  so  on  August  17  si\ 
more  spring    pigs,    averaging   67.16    pounds   in    weight,    were    added. 

The  alfalfa  pasture  was  supplemented  by  feeding  _'  pounds  of  coin 


Ki.;.  ill/  ■•■..■  ■  >n  for 


per  day  for  each  hundred  pounds  of  live  weight  of  hogs.  The  hogs 
were  taken  off  the  pasture  on  September  17.  During  the  pasture 
period  the  total  gain  made  on  the  quarter-acre  plat  was  _'ll  pounds. 
or  at  the  rate  of  s  14  pounds  per  aero.  During  the  period.  9.9  bushels 
of  corn  were  fed  in  addition  to  the  alfalfa  pasture.  Valuing  this  corn 
at  90  cents  per  bushel  and  deducting  this  from  the  value  of  the  gains 
made  at  8  cents  per  pound,  the  net  return  from  the  quarter-acre  of 
alfalfa  from  August  7  to  September  17  was  $7.97,  or  an  equivalent  of 
$3  1  .88  per  acre.  The  average  yield  from  the  third  crop  on  nine  com- 
parable plats  of  alfalfa  in  the  same  field  was  1.43  tons  per  acre. 
Assuming  that  the  pastured  plat  produced  the  average  yield,  the 
value  of  the  alfalfa  when  pastured  by  hogs  was  $22.30  per  ton. 

While  this  test  was  rather  incomplete,  because  the  hog-  were  on 
the  alfalfa  pasture  hut  a  short  time,  nevertheless  the  results   imli- 


8 

cate   that  this   means  of  utilizing   the  alfalfa  crop  would  be  more 
profitable  than  to  harvest  and  sell  the  hay. 

Hogging  corn. — On  September  26  four  of  the  hogs  used  in  the  alfalfa 
pasturing  test  were  placed  on  the  quarter-acre  plat  of  corn,  their 
average  weight  then  being  84  pounds.  The  total  gain  made  during 
the  period  of  23  days  that  the  hogs  were  on  the  corn  was  192  pounds. 
The  average  daily  gain  per  hog  was  2.08  pounds.  The  value  of  the 
gains  made  at  8  cents  per  pound  was  $15.36  per  plat,  or  $61.44  per 
acre.  It  was  estimated  that  the  corn  plat  produced  at  the  rate  of 
60  bushels  per  acre.  At  this  rate  the  value  of  the  gains  made  by  the 
hogs  was  equal  to  $1.02  per  bushel  for  the  corn  consumed. 

EXPERIMENTS  WITH  ALFALFA. 

Time  and  method  of  planting. — An  experiment  in  time  and  method 
of  planting  alfalfa  was  started  in  field  A-IV  in  1911.  This  experi- 
ment included  early  and  late  planting  without  a  nurse  crop,  early 
planting  with  wheat  as  a  nurse  crop,  and  planting  late  in  18-inch 
rows  to  be  cultivated.  The1  rate  <;f  seeding  of  alfalfa  was  12  pounds 
per  acre  except  on  the  plats  where  the  seed  was  planted  in  18-inch 
rows,  in  which  case  the  rate  was  6  pounds.  Wheat  in  the  nurse-crop 
plats  was  planted  at  the  rate  of  1  bushel  per  acre.  All  plats  were 
one-quarter  acre  in  size. 

The  yields  on  these  plats  in  1911,  1912,  and  1913  are  given  in 
Table  IV. 

Table  IV. —  Yields  obtained  in  the  alfalfa-planting  experiment  on    field  .1-/1'  at  the 
Huntley  Experiment  Farm  in  1911.  1912,  and  1913. 


Date  and  method  of  planting. 


Mav  5,  1911,  early 

June  5,1911,  late 

June  5,  1911,  in  IS-inch  rows 

May  5, 1911,  with  wheat  as  a  nurse  crop,  c  in  for  hay  in 

1911 

Mav  5, 1911,  with  wheat  as  a  nurse  crop,  cut  for  grain  in 

1911 


Num- 
ber of 

plats. 


Average  yield  per  acre  (tons). 


1911 

1912         and 

1912 


2.  43 
2. 00 

1.75 

2.34 

I  46.  7 


S.  64 

5.35 
4.98 

5.40 

4.93 


8.07 

7.  35 
6.73 

'5.40 

3  4.93 


5.23 
5.45 
5.11 

5.56 

:,.  68 


Total 
3  years. 


13. 30 
12.80 

11. M 
i  10.96 

'  in.  f,i 


i  Plus  j:.m  ions  of  wheal  hay. 


■  Bushels  of  grain. 


s  Plus  46.7  bushels  of  wheat. 


From  Table  IV  it  will  be  noted  that  the  total  yield  of  the  early  plant- 
ing for  three  years  was  somewhat  higher  than  that  of  the  late  planting 
and  of  planting  in  18-inch  rows.  The  greatest  differences  in  yields 
occurred  in  the  first  and  second  years.  The  differences  in  yield  in 
1913  were  not  great  enough  to  be  significant  except  in  the  case  of  the 
18-inch-row  planting,  where  the  yield  was  slightly  less  than  on  any 
of  the  other  plats.     In  comparing  the  yields  on  the  nurse-crop  plats, 


consideration  must  be  given  to  the  grain  and  the  grain  baj  produced 
the  first  \  ear. 

Table  V  Bhows  the  relative  values  of  the  crops  produced  on  the 
different  plats  during  the  three  years,  the  values  being  based  on  the 
yields  obtained  and  the  cost  of  production  by  the  different  methods. 

Alfalfa  and  wheat  lia\    air  Valued  at  $6  a  i"ii  and  wheat   at  65  cents  a 

bushel. 

Taih  h  \      I  Uua  and  co$t  of  produetio  tiu  alfalfa-planting 

■  i  mi  it,  I*!  A   [Vat  i1"  II 


\  ilnc  uod 

Nil- 

I  •  1  ■■ 

plant 

\Mz 

-'  pl 

r..u 

■ 

56.15 

44.03 

39.58 

The  experiment  was  repeated  in  1912  in  Held  A   111.     The  yields 
obtained  in  this  field  in  1912  and  1913  are  given  in  Table  VI. 

Tabu    \  l.—  Yitldt  ■  alfalfa-p  Id  A— III  at  i!<- 


Number 


■ 


I,  1912,  .url  v 

Ji  Hi.-  14, 1912,  late 

J u ii.'  14,  1912, ill  18-lni  h  rows 

.  1912,  wit] 


»  71 


Table  VI  shows  that  the  results  favor  early  planting  when  the 
two  years'  results  are  considered,  but  that  there  was  verj  little  differ- 
ence in  the  yields  during  the  second  year.  The  L8-inch-row  planting 
gave  the  lOWesI  yields  during  both  the  first  and  second  years.  The 
yield  from  the  Qurse-crop  plats  was  very  little  lower  in  the  second 
year  than  that  from  the  plats  planted  without  a  nurse  crop. 

The  value  of  the  crops  produced  during  the  two  years,  together 
with  the  value  of  the  crops  produced  during  the  first  two  years  on 
held  A- TV,  and  the  average  of  the  two.  are  given  in  Table  VII. 


10 


Table  VII. — Gross  and  net  values  and  cost  of  production  of  crops  in  tico  alfalfa-planting 
experiments  at  the  Huntley  Experiment  Farm,  in  1911,  1912.  and  1918. 


Nurse  crop  cut  for — 

Early 
planting 
(3  plats). 

Late 
planting 
(3  plats). 

18-inch 

Value  and  cost. 

Grain 
(2  plats). 

Hav 
(2  plats). 

rows 
(3  plats). 

Field  A-m  (1912-1913): 

Gross  value 

$54.23 

22.90 

$41.70 
19.77 

$31.44 
10.83 

$24. 18 

Cost  of  production 

14.30 

31.27 

21.93 

14.01 

9.82 

Field  A-IV  (1911-1912): 

Gross  value 

59.  93 
28.34 

|46.  44 
24.66 

48.42 

20.  79 

44.10 

24.  39 

40.38 

Cost  of  production 

22.25 

31.59 

21.78 

21.03 

19.71 

18.13 

Average  net  value,  both  fields 

31.43 

21.78 

21.78 

17.17 

13.97 

Table  VII  shows  that  the  practice  of  planting  alfalfa  with  a  nurse 
crop  and  harvesting  the  nurse  crop  for  grain  has  been  by  far  the 
most  profitable  when  the  first  two  years'  results  are  considered  and 
that  early  planting  gave  higher  returns  than  late  planting.  The 
lowest  returns  were  obtained  from  the  lS-inch-row  plantings. 

Harvesting  alfalfa. — A  test  to  determine  the  effect  of  cutting  alfalfa 
at  different  stages  of  growth  was  conducted  in  1913  on  11  quarter- 
acre  plats  in  field  A— I.  The  alfalfa  on  these  plats  was  planted  in 
1912.  The  plan  of  the  experiment  was  as  follows:  The  first  cutting 
of  each  crop  was  made  at  the  first  appearance  of  the  basal  shoots,  and 
later  cuttings  on  the  other  plats  were  made  at  5-day  intervals  follow- 
ing the  first  cutting.  Table  VIII  shows  the  yields  obtained  in  this 
experiment. 

Table  VIII. —  Yields  of  alfalfa  obtained  in  the  time-of-cutting  experiment  at  the  Huntley 

Experiment  Farm  in  1918. 

[Tons  per  acre.] 


First  crop. 

Second 

crop.             Third 

crop.             Fourth  crop. 

Total  for  year. 

Number  of 
plats. 

Date  cut. 

Yield. 

Date  cut. 

Yield. 

Date  cut. 

Yield. 

Date  cut. 

Yield. 

Num- 
ber of 
crops. 

Yield. 

0 

June    5 
June  10 
June  14 
June  20 
June  25 

1.86 
2.  33 
1.92 
1.68 
2.51 

Julv   17 
Julv   27 
...do.... 
Aw:.     2 
Aug.     7 

1.36 

1.46 
1.71 

1.73 
2.  03 

Aug.  22 
Aug.  27 
Sept.    l 
Sept.    6 
Sept.  12 

1.44 
1.70 
1.39 
1.43 
1.77 

Oct.     1 
...do 

0.81 
.33 

4 
4 
3 
3 
3 

5.47 

0 

5.S2 

2 

5.02 

2 

4.74 

3 

6.31 

The  results  indicate  that  delaying  the  harvest  of  the  first  crop  did 
not  have  the  effect  of  reducing  the  yield  of  the  second  crop.  There 
was.  on  the  contrary,  a  consistent  increase  in  the  yield  of  the  second 
crop  as  the  growing  period  of  the  first  crop  increased.  The  yields 
obtained  in  1913  indicate  that  three  cuttings  a  year  will  be  more 
profitable  than  four  cuttings.  This  experiment  will  be  repeated  in 
1914. 


11 


TEST  OF  PA8T1  BE  GRAS81  S 

A  tesl  i>f  pasture-grass  mixtures  and  Bepaxate  grasses  was  Btarted  in 
the  spring  of  1013  on  a  Beries  of  plats  in  field  A  II.  The  mixtures 
were  planted  on  quarter-acre  plats.  The  mixtures  and  the  rate  of 
^<'fi  1 1 i»l:  of  each  grass  ami  legume  in  the  mixture  were  aa  follows 

Mixture  A  contained  timothy,  i  pounds;  meadow  fescue,  2  pounds;  redtop,  I  pounds; 
t.ill  fescue,  2  pounds    Kentucky  bluegran    i  pounds;  Italian  ry<  !  pounds; 

orchard  grass,  i>  pounds    western  wheat-grass,  6 pounds;  awnless  bromo  grass (Broi 
inermif),  _'  pounds;  ami  perennial  rye-eja.ss,  1  pounds. 


4 

S 

i^\ 

-     , 

*   1 

j*^ '- 

Fig.  5.— Flat  of  orchar  '.  -.-.-*  after  planting  in  1013,  showing  the  tbiok,  unifonn  sfan.l  and 

rona  pro\rth.     The  :inel  at  the  Hnntle;  Fxperiment  Firm  In  1  •  that 

Mixture  1'.  was  the  .-.une  .i->  A  except  that  -'  pounds  each  of  white  .  lover  and  alsike 
clever  per  acre  were  added,  and  mixture  C  was  the  same  as  B  except  thai  2  pounds  •  •! 
alfalfa  per  acre  were  seeded  with  I  ~  and  cUn 

Mixtures  A  ami  B  were  planted  "ii  very  heavy  s.>il  ami  only  a  fair  stand  « 
A  very  good  stand  was  secured  with  mixture  C.     Tl 
pastures  can  bi  'lished  on  the  Huntley  project      Itisi  that 

ts  will  he  made  in  I'M  I  to  determine  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  pasture  mixtt 
planted  in  1913. 

In  order  to  determine  which  of  the  grasses  included  in  the  mixtures 
mentioned  were  best  adapted  to  the  conditions  on  the  project,  each 
of  those  grasses  was  planted  separately  in  twentieth-acre  plats.  All 
of  the  grasses  made  excellent  growth  during  the  first  year,  except 
timothy.  Kentucky  bluegrass,  western  wheat-grass,  and  redtop. 
A  plat  of  orchard  eras-  i-  shown  in  figure  •"'. 


12 

FIELD  CORN. 

A  test  of  corn  varieties,  to  determine  those  maturing  earliest  and 
best  suited  to  conditions  on  the  project,  was  conducted  in  1913  in 
cooperation  with  the  Oilice  of  Corn  Investigations.  Seven  varieties 
were  used  in  the  test.  These  varieties  yielded  as  follows :  Minnesota 
Xo.  13,  27.42  bushels  per  acre;  Selection  Xo.  133,  26.16  bushels; 
Ardmore  Dent,  25.63  bushels;  Northwestern  Dent,  25.13  bushels; 
Brown  County  Yellow,  24.43  bushels;  Minnesota  No.  23,  23.66 
bushels;  and  Disco  Flint,  18.10  bushels. 

The  season  was  free  from  frost  late  enough  to  allow  all  the  varieties 
to  mature  well.  The  earliest  maturing  varieties  were  Northwestern 
Dent  and  Disco  Flint,  which  matured  about  10  days  earlier  than  any 
of  the  other  varieties. 

IRRIGATION  TEST  WITH  FLAX. 

At  the  request  of  the  Montana  experiment  station  a  test  to  deter- 
mine the  proper  time  of  applying  water  to  flax,  and  especially  the 
effect  of  late  irrigation  after  the  flax  is  through  blooming,  was  con- 
ducted in  1913  on  8  tenth-acre  plats  in  field  C-VI.  The  soil  in  this 
field  is  very  heavy  and  a  rather  poor  stand  of  the  crop  was  secured. 
The  yields  obtained  were  in  favor  of  two  irrigations,  although  when  the 
second  irrigation  was  applied,  after  the  flax  was  well  through  blooming, 
there  was  a  tendency  for  the  plants  to  continue  to  bloom,  with  the 
result  that  there  was  a  small  proportion  of  bloom  and  some  unma- 
tured seed  when  the  larger  part  of  the  crop  was  ready  to  harvest. 
The  average  yield  of  four  plats  that  received  but  one  irrigation, 
which  was  applied  when  the  flax  began  to  bloom,  was  5.15  bushels, 
while  the  average  yield  of  four  plats  that  received  two  irrigations 

was  6.25  bushels. 

FERTILIZER  TEST. 

At  the  request  of  the  Montana  experiment  station  a  test  to  deter- 
mine the  value  of  acid  phosphate  as  a  fertilizer  was  conducted  in 
field  B-VII  on  12  tenth-acre  plats.  The  crops  used  in  this  test  were 
wheat,  oats,  and  barley.  Fertilizer  was  applied  to  each  crop  at  the 
rate  of  300,  500,  and  700  pounds  per  acre.  This  fertilizer  was  in 
the  form  of  aeid  phosphate,  of  which  each  100  pounds  contained 
3.71  pounds  of  phosphorus.  As  a  check  on  the  effect  of  the  fertilizer 
one  plat  of  each  crop  was  grown  without  fertilizer.  The  average 
yields  of  the  crops  were  as  follows:  Wheat,  46.7  bushels;  barley,  59.4 
bushels;  and  oats,  101.05  bushels  per  acre.  No  significant  differences 
occurred  in  the  yield,  that  could  be  attributed  to  the  fertilize]',  and 
there  was  no  apparent  difference  in  the  color  or  appearance  of  the 
growing  crop. 


13 

ORCHARD  TRH  B  kND  8M  ILL  FIMli  3. 

\  5-acre  (fact  in  field  \  is  devoted  to  testa  with  fruit  trees  and 
Bmal]  Fruits.  In  1911  aboul  i111'  varietie  of  apples,  cherries,  and 
plums,  together  with  26  varieties  of  Bmal]  fruits,  were  planted.  In 
the  winter  of  1911  12  about  ">n  per  cent  of  the  trees  uric  winter- 
killed, and  it  was  necessary  to  replant  them  in  the  Bpring  of  1912. 
Only  about  l")  per  cent  of  the  trees  were  k>-t  during  the  winter  of 
1912  13.  These  trees  made  good  growth  during  the  BeasoE  of  1913. 
Tt  Beams  apparent  from  t  be  results  so  far  obtained  i  liat  in  an  ordinary 
year  man\  young  trees  are  liable  to  be  injured  by  the  severe  winter 
weather  and  that  only  apples  and  plum-  and  perhaps  some  varieties 
of  sour  cherries  can  be  expected  to  prove  hardy.  It  will  probably 
be  necessary  to  replant  in  man}  cases  before  an  orchard  can  be 
successfully  established. 

RECLAMATION  OF  THK  WORDEN  TRACT. 

Experiments  were  started  in  1910  on  12  acres  of  a  40-acre  tract 
near  the  Warden  town  site  to  determine  mean-  of  reclaiming  the 
heavy  alkaline  soil-  of  the  pro j eel  and  of  bringing  the  land  into  pro- 
duction.    The  >oil  on  this  tract,  which  i-  representative  of  about 

one-fourth  of  the  land-  on  the  Huntley  project,  i-  a  very  heavy, 
impervious  clay  that   contain-  e\ce--i\e  amounts  of  alkali  -alt-. 

The  physical  character  of  the  soil  i-  such  as  to  prevent   natural 

leaching  and  there  ha-  heen  a  consequent  accumulation  of  -alt-  in 
the  surface  layer  of  the  -oil.  This  surface  -oil  i-  underlain  hv  a 
-t  ratum  of  -and  and  gravel  at  a  depth  of  .">  to  8  feet.  The  problem 
involved  in  the  reclamation  of  this  land  appear-  to  he  the  opening 
up  *>f  the  surface  -oil  so  a-  to  lump  aboul  artificial  leaching. 

Three  methods  of  reclaiming  tin-  land  have  heen  tried.  The  I  -t 
was  the  plowing  under  of  a  crop  of  rye  as  preen  manure  in  1011  and 
in  in  L912  and  keeping  the  ground  thoroughly  cultivated  each 
Beason  after  plowing  the  crop  under.  The  Becond  method  included 
plowing  under  rye  a-  preen  manure  in  1911,  followed  in  the  latter 
part  of  1911  and  all  of  1912  by  irrigation  and  cultivation  by  mean 
of  the   bordered-check   system.     Irrigation    water   was    applied    on 

these  plats  at  about  10-day  interval-  and  each  time  wa-  followed 
as  soon  as  possible  by  cultivation  to  keep  the  -oil  opened  up  and 
to  start  a  downward  movement  of  the  water  through  the  -oil  to  the 
underlying  gravel.  The  third  method  wa-  the  same  a-  the  second 
except  that  manure1  wa-  applied  t<>  the  land  at  the  rate  of  20  loads 
per  acre  in   I'M  1   and  again  in   1912. 

All  the  land  was  cropped  in  1913.  Land  on  which  two  crop-  of 
lye  a-  preen  manure  had  heen  plowed  under  produced  winter  wheat 


14 

at  the  rate  of  29.4  bushels  per  acre  on  10  quarter-acre  plats  and  at 
the  rate  of  2S.70  bushels  per  acre  on  a  6f-acre  field.  Sugar  beets  on 
this  haul  yielded  at  the  rate  of  10.97  tons  per  acre.  Alfalfa  was 
planted  on  one  plat  that  had  received  this  treatment  and  a  fair 
stand  was  secured,  although,  of  course,  the  success  of  this  crop  will 
not  be  known  until  another  season.  Alfalfa  and  oats  were  planted 
on  the  land  that  had  received  treatment  according  to  the  second 
method.  Oats  yielded  at  the  rate  of  51.56  bushels  per  acre  and  a 
good  stand  of  alfalfa  was  secured.  On  the  land  that  was  treated 
according  to  the  third  method,  spring  wheat  yielded  36  bushels  per 
acre;  sugar  beets  yielded  7.S6  tons;  and  oats  yielded  68. S7  bushels. 
Determinations  of  the  total  salt  content  of  the  soil  indicate  that 
the  practice  of  plowing  under  rye  as  a  green-manure  crop  has  been 
more  effective  than  either  of  the  other  methods  in  reducing  the  salt 
content.     This  method  has  also  been  found  to  be  much  less  expensive. 

Approved : 

Wm.  A.  Taylor, 

Cliicf  of  Bureau. 

June  5,  1914. 

o 


WASHINGTON:    COVF.RNMF.NT    PBINTIITO    OFFICE:    1914 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  08929  0000 


DEPOSiTOn-, 


